The Muse of Maiden Lane

You could alter her face before you commit your preliminary sketch to canvas. That would be a way of respecting --" "I want all of her," Teddy interrupted impatiently. "Her face. Her figure. Her silver hair. That's my star. It must be all or nothing.

Be loud,' he told her. 'Be opinionated. Be as much yourself as you wish -- and then some. Once we're wed, you and I will answer to no one but each other.

Starlight, of course,” he said solemnly. “For you, it will always be starlight.

He had the vague thought that riding a difficult mare for so many years had given her an unseen reservoir of power. Luminous as she appeared, she was no will-o’-the-wisp. She was formidable. Strong.

He wanted to be recognized for the things he could control, not for those things he couldn’t.

She’d been made small for so long, the words hadn’t existed to articulate the wild yearnings within her... She knew now what she wanted-- what she’d always wanted... The freedom to want, to choose, to be. To live a colorful, conspicuous, unconventional life.

I said, he ground out, you deserve more than a life in the background.

During their months apart, he’d begun to wonder if he’d imagined how beautiful she was–how very perfect she was for his painting. But he hadn’t imagined anything, had he? Indeed, it was possible that his memory had blunted the effect of her.

Immortality is rarely comfortable, but we’ll manage, I’m certain.

Life is too short to waste time with what ifs. I mean to be happy, that’s all. Without that, what else is there?

The freedom to want, to choose, to be. To live a colorful, conspicuous, unconventional life… Together they had found friendship, acceptance, and the courage to follow their hearts.

As tempting as the arrangement sounds... I don't want a marriage of convenience." The rejection struck Teddy as powerfully as a blow. He nearly released her hand. And then -- "If we marry," she said, "I intend to fall in love with you." Teddy struggled to keep his countenance. He'd been wrong. She wasn't rejecting him. She was raising the stakes. Love, she'd said. Not like any longer. Not convenience. But love. He looked at her steadily. "I should be honored if you did.

He smiled back at her. The movement lit his face, softening the sharp edges and making him appear at once both more handsome and infinitely more dangerous. This was the countenance of a gentleman who could do more than persuade a lady to submit to his painting her. This was the countenance of a man who could persuade a lady to do anything.

The temptation was too great to resist. Heart thundering madly, Teddy closed the distance and pressed his lips to hers. Her eyes fell shut as he captured her mouth. A soft murmur of assent throbbed in her throat. The sound sent a wild rush of heat through his veins...

All that life in him, the sensitivity in his art and his ability to see things in all their light and shadow, stems from his own vulnerability... Indeed, there are times when he still struggles mightily with his condition.